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  1. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

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    This week I broke standard procedure and temporarily ignored my backlog in order to play a newly released game, MIO: Memories In Orbit. It was cheap enough that it didn't make sense to wait for...

    This week I broke standard procedure and temporarily ignored my backlog in order to play a newly released game, MIO: Memories In Orbit. It was cheap enough that it didn't make sense to wait for it, especially with the 10% launch discount. There's a lot to say about this one (sorry)!

    MIO is a 2.5D science fiction metroidvania created by a French studio, in which you play a little robot that exists in a vast spacefaring ark, the Vessel. The Vessel's original inhabitants, the Travelers (humans?) are long gone. They left behind their many ageing sentient robotic servants in a habitat that's slowly falling apart and being invaded by out of control vegetation, malfunctioning devices, etc. The Vessel is run by intelligent entities named after body parts related to the function they supervise, and at the start of the game - after a big tremor - the Spine, in charge of the network, claims they have lost contact with the others and can you please go check up on them?

    Visually, the game is gorgeous. Clever shader use yielded a pencil-drawn, watercolor-painted aesthetic complete with some discreet cross-hatching that made me think of certain modern comic books. While at first deceptively stark, throughout the game various parts of the Vessel are revealed to have beautiful architecture and a consistent and polished style. The sound design is also good and there's voice acting for the bosses. The lore from conversations is supplemented by several written testimonials and visual storytelling as you slowly uncover the history of the Vessel. The various robots you encounter range from creepy and insect-like to adorable (which is unrelated to their friendliness). Many are dead (or "beyond repair" as the game puts it), but every single one has a unique name, adding to the immersion.

    Gameplay-wise, this game is VERY HARD. Did you read what I wrote last week about how Afterimage failed to be a souls-like metroidvania? Well, the finger curled on that monkey's paw. Throughout the game (so far) Mio has had between 3 and 6 hitpoints, and not necessarily in that order, as the plot will occasionally (permanently) take one away from you just to keep things interesting. Running is not super fast, jumps are floaty (probably on purpose - the game does include ice sliding and low gravity physics) and most bosses are tanky and can zip across the screen in half a second, or have up to ten times your attack range. Patience, endurance, pattern learning and good timing are essential if you want to get anywhere at all. Or, if you don't feel up for that, there are assist options (which I don't plan on ever using), including one that makes fights progressively easier with each repetition. If you can, try doing it the hard way - despite the difficulty, fights have never felt impossible so far. This is the type of game that makes you want to beat each milestone out of spite, and will fill you with vengeful satisfaction when you do.

    There is a parry mechanic which lets you tank damage from an attack for maybe one second (if the enemy attack lasts longer than a second - tough!) Confusingly, the game calls this the "dodge". It's not a dodge. It does not move the character. I don't know why they called it dodge. Must be french humor I don't understand!

    Mio's move set is a little different from your traditional metroidvania's. Forget about the dash and ground pound, as Mio is more fragile than almost anything else in the Vessel. To the basic double jump and punch (slap?) they add an unlockable grapple that is pretty much Mio's only way of moving fast, a limited glide and - my favorite - what I can only call "spider"; less of a wall climb and more of a "if you see it, you can walk on it, yes, even upside down". The thing is, any single skill use requires Mio's full energy bar, after which they must land and rest for a second. Unless, that is, they punch something, which will reset the bar. Punching makes everything better! Platforming sections therefore involve a bunch of punching enemies or slapping flowers and bombs as you string together a bunch of ceiling walking, grapple launches and glides over hallways filled with poisonous fuel or buildings overrun by corrupted funghi, with fairly strict tolerances.

    The UI and menus have that sci-fi computer "burnt yellow on black" look, with clean lines and text, and monochrome icons representing the various collectibles and modifiers - which are an extension system for Mio's abilities. There are many of these and each takes up way too many of Mio's limited memory slots, forcing you to respec for specific bosses and to make sacrifices. For example, I almost immediately found myself unplugging Mio's HUD in order to make room for an attack power boost (which removes everything from the game screen, including the hitpoints and energy, making it impossible to know how close you are to dying). Slots can be extended but this requires paying a currency that is lost on death unless it's deposited in specific locations (I assure you this game will never go easy on you). Finally, there is a very good explorable map system which shows accurate area sizes, (the many) doors, complete with lock status, unexplored exits, checkpoints and boss areas, and which can be extended with custom-placed icons.

    MIOs real sins are few, but oh boy are they cardinal.

    Throughout the Vessel, there exist a few save points. These are where Mio will resume the game when you die or load from the menu, and also the only places where modifiers can be re-slotted and where your map will update with newly explored areas (did you think the map system deviated from the game's pervasive difficulty? Nope! Can't see where you are while exploring a new area!) It's also possible to fast travel between them as long as their robot "overseer", which has been torn off and dumped somewhere else, is found and "mended". There are relatively few of these save points - few enough, in fact, that for the whole first section of the game you have exactly one. And there are no other checkpoints whatsoever. That means whenever you die fighting a boss - which could happen within, say, ten seconds - you can expect to spend sometimes longer than a minute making your way back to the boss fight. This might require dealing with smaller enemies or platforming challenges through hazards which might kill your boss fight attempt before it even starts by taking away one of your precious hitpoints. If you overcome this, you then get to watch the boss fight's introduction animation again, during which you can punch the boss if it makes you happier, but they will take no damage. You cannot skip it - you can't skip any cutscenes, and at times will have to hear the same voice line many times as you repeat a fight. There are almost no concessions to your time - there isn't even a way to return to a save point deliberately other than exiting the game and re-loading.

    This is mitigated by a fairly good shortcut system. In fact, the Vessel is pretty well designed as a whole, and shortcuts are many and an integral part of your progress in the game. But there is no world in which I will ever find this sort of player-hostile nonsense acceptable in 2026 (and neither do any other players, as far as I can tell). There is no reason why they couldn't checkpoint just before the bosses and shorten their introduction after the first time. I felt genuine anger at first, and this could have made me drop what is otherwise a fairly good game. It's "bad" enough that rooms can be vast and hallways long, and Mio can take a while to cross them at their not super fast, dash-free running pace.

    I think I kind of get it. The developers had an artistic vision - a pretty good one - about this immersive arkship, with consistent distances, reasonable physics and a realistic aesthetic and they're uncompromisingly faithful to it. Based on their website, this seems to have been an artist-led endeavor, which is almost unbelievable given how polished and major-bug-free the gameplay seems to be. But if that's the case, I sure hope they will start listening to their players and patch more reasonable checkpointing in. It would be a pity if MIO failed to get the recognition it deserves out of pointless stubbornness.

    If you're a really good gamer and manage to train yourself to never actually die, I can see MIO becoming an attractive speedrun game. I'd be interested in watching that!

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    10 votes

  2. Comment on We are witnessing the self-immolation of a superpower in ~society

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    Unfortunately this isn't as true as you might think. In some areas, it's the opposite, actually. You have a lower VAT and products distributed EU-wide are shipped to Rotterdam or, if not,...

    because they have lower prices generally.

    Unfortunately this isn't as true as you might think. In some areas, it's the opposite, actually.

    You have a lower VAT and products distributed EU-wide are shipped to Rotterdam or, if not, somewhere nearby anyway. Then they have to be transported to Portugal by truck or airplane at additional cost.

    Purchasing power is also affected by things like our world-class housing crisis and insane fuel costs.

    4 votes

  3. Comment on NexPhone - Smartphone PC that can boot into Windows, Android or Debian in ~tech

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    I am not currently at the point of my phone ownership cycle in which I'm looking for a new phone, but when that happens I'll probably want something european. Unfortunately this one doesn't even...

    I am not currently at the point of my phone ownership cycle in which I'm looking for a new phone, but when that happens I'll probably want something european. Unfortunately this one doesn't even ship from the EU.

    1 vote

  4. Comment on What are your favorite home remedies or comforts when you're sick? in ~health

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    I tend to not do anything without understanding the scientific basis of the recommendation. So drink a lot of water and rest a lot are the most basic of remedies. Depending on the disease, there's...

    I tend to not do anything without understanding the scientific basis of the recommendation. So drink a lot of water and rest a lot are the most basic of remedies. Depending on the disease, there's definitely cause for ingesting easily digestible foods, honey and ginger, etc.

    People eating and drinking all sorts of stuff when you have a cough: Watch out for reflux. All foods that are acidic, have caffeine or are carbonated, among others, can worsen and extend your cough by causing reflux.

    3 votes

  5. Comment on Amazon orders 'Lore Olympus' animated series based on Webtoon title in ~tv

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    I don't know Lore Olympus, but it would be amazing to eventually see some of the webcomics/webtoons I've read adapted for TV.

    I don't know Lore Olympus, but it would be amazing to eventually see some of the webcomics/webtoons I've read adapted for TV.

    2 votes

  6. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

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    I've been playing Afterimage, another gift from the generous @kfwyre (aka "Background Image" in the giveaway). It's a huge/vast Metroidvania of Chinese origin, with typical mechanics and an art...

    I've been playing Afterimage, another gift from the generous @kfwyre (aka "Background Image" in the giveaway). It's a huge/vast Metroidvania of Chinese origin, with typical mechanics and an art style that combines Ori-like painterly locations and anime-style characters and NPCs (complete with outfits that are very extra). The production feels fairly high budget for this type of game, with most cutscenes voice acted by professional voice talent in chinese, japanese and english. In japanese, protagonist Ree is voiced by Ishikawa Yui (2B, Mikasa, Violet Evergarden). It's expected to last 30-40 hours.

    The movement and platforming are fairly snappy and satisfying, especially as you unlock your various typical metrodvania movement skills. The world of the game is crammed with little platforming challenges and many, many hidden chests, items and other rewards for exploring every nook and cranny. There is also a wide variety of monster types with different attack mechanics and behaviors, as well as many bosses and mini-bosses. In general, it's a nice game to play, so much so that two friends who saw me playing it already (separately from each other) picked it up.

    I have mixed feelings about the combat. Afterimage features a set of mechanics you might expect from an RPG or Roguelite, without being either of those things. There are lots of different types of items, including consummables, armor parts, accessories and weapons with different attack mechanics. There is a skill tree/grid, too. But for most of the game, Ree has little to defend herself with from the typically very fast and diverse attacks of boss monsters. There is no parry, no dash through, no i-frames, and there tend to be attacks you can't jump over, so the best you can do is mind where you are and try to jump back from attacks (or duck). On the other hand, if you have some care to pick up most of the goodies in the map as you run around, Ree is quite tanky and hard to kill. So even though the game is presented as souls-like, I quickly realized that the best strategy is exactly the opposite - don't fret any hits you take and just beat the shit out of every boss as quickly as you can! This also means that most of the "gameplay" you get out of most of the game's many items is when you decide whether to use them or not. Once I decide an item is just worse than what I'm using, I never touch it again. Very Diablo-esque, I guess! At least nothing here is getting in the way of my enjoyment of the rest of the game.

    I also want to rant a bit about the story and the UI. Let's combine these! First red flag: On multiple occasions, there are mismatches between (english) written dialogue/quests, spoken dialogue and map locations. There are also occasional spelling mistakes. Careless translations? Unfortunately Afterimage's plot is complex, rambling and non-linear, so these can get in the way. The game has a map system that explores as you go, but is largely useless on its own as the world is very large and nothing is marked on it except NPCs (which are very few), checkpoints and the odd background feature. You are expected to complete the map yourself with a set of provided unlabeled icons (most of which are of dubious usefulness). Quest item requirements for "cooking" quests are likewise a problem - they are displayed only as an icon, so you have to pore over the long list of enemies in the "bestiary" tab to find out which one drops an item matching that icon (assuming it's even there).

    All these little design flaws coalesce into, once again, what I believe is not the outcome the developers desired. Typically you have a dozen quests running at the same time, and with the confusion about what is what and unclear item requirements for doing things or crossing barriers, it's more efficient to ignore all the chaos of icons and quests and just play the game in the expectation to eventually run into most of what you need. And at times, to be at a complete loss regarding where to go next! At one point, a friend who played the game before had to un-stick me by reminding me of a portal I had unlocked several hours earlier (not marked in the map or quest log in any way). Currently I'm fighting a boss that kills me in a cutscene immediately after I beat it (who doesn't love that?) I probably need to go do something else before fighting it (what?)

    The game is still plenty entertaining and great value if you're considering buying it. I've never wanted to quit. You can challenge yourself by trying out less than ideal playstyles and loadouts, and the combat does get a lot better in the late game, after finally unlocking the better dash and other combat-relevant skills. And if you're confused, there's always the Internet!

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    4 votes

  7. Comment on I recently finished the Cradle series by Will Wight and have post series depression. What shall I read next? in ~books

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    It depends on what you're looking for in a book. It's appropriate for bugsmith because it has progression elements while being written more like a traditional fantasy novel, matching their listed...

    It depends on what you're looking for in a book. It's appropriate for bugsmith because it has progression elements while being written more like a traditional fantasy novel, matching their listed preferences. It's a little (only a little) like Kingkiller, with a more sympathetic (albeit still competent) protagonist. It's the first book in a trilogy and it's well written.

    In my opinion Red Rising is fairly gripping so if you're more into sci fi you might want to give it another try. That said, I dropped the series after the second book for other reasons. I haven't read the sequel to WotM yet but so far, standing alone, I prefer it. It features a roman empire-like fantasy world with something like a magic system and several interesting characters.

    3 votes

  8. Comment on I recently finished the Cradle series by Will Wight and have post series depression. What shall I read next? in ~books

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    Mage Errant was solid. To me, Mage Errant > Arcane Ascension (WIP) > Mother of Learning. I found Mother of Learning gets a little too repetitive and streamlined, for reasons. The other two have...

    Mage Errant was solid. To me, Mage Errant > Arcane Ascension (WIP) > Mother of Learning. I found Mother of Learning gets a little too repetitive and streamlined, for reasons. The other two have better character interactions, but the plot gets messier in AA.

    1 vote

  9. Comment on I recently finished the Cradle series by Will Wight and have post series depression. What shall I read next? in ~books

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    Children of Time isn't quite like the others, I'd say. It has sequels if you want more of that. (Or have you already read all the sequels from the books/series you listed?) Typically I don't like...

    Children of Time isn't quite like the others, I'd say. It has sequels if you want more of that. (Or have you already read all the sequels from the books/series you listed?)

    Typically I don't like go give immediate recommendations with such vague parameters but I think you might enjoy The Will of the Many by James Islington.

    There are also a slew of perfectly adequate progression fantasy e-published novels and comics out there for you. The biggest problem with those is that there are also many that are not so good and it's hard to tell them apart.

    4 votes

  10. Comment on On being officially classed as a robot in ~tech

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    As is tradition. Every big tech platform does exactly the same thing. As someone who has gotten banned from two others for no (human?) reason, and had the same "appeal" experience, welcome to the...

    I'd violated their rules, should read them more closely, and that their decision was final

    As is tradition. Every big tech platform does exactly the same thing. As someone who has gotten banned from two others for no (human?) reason, and had the same "appeal" experience, welcome to the club! Beep boop.

    6 votes

  11. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

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    Everyone who likes exploring falls for that, I think. I'd explored some 80% of the Kalm area before I met Chadley at the farm. Urgh. I think if it had been a western game it would have quickly...

    Kind of a baffling game design decision which runs counter to how every other open world game works.

    Everyone who likes exploring falls for that, I think. I'd explored some 80% of the Kalm area before I met Chadley at the farm. Urgh. I think if it had been a western game it would have quickly been fixed with a patch.

    I like the card game.

    It's definitely better than all the minigames, except perhaps chocobo racing. But since each opponent has a specific strategy, it ends up being more of a puzzle than a card game, in the vein of Inscryption (find the "solution" for each opponent). I beat everyone by sticking to a small number of strategies, very few deck redesigns and never even used half of the cards (which is also something you can do in Inscryption...)

    5 votes

  12. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

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    Nice, glad you're enjoying Haste! You're saying the same things I've said before, the core gameplay is awesome, the roguelike mechanics are OK, the story is ??? why? Pay careful attention to the...

    Nice, glad you're enjoying Haste! You're saying the same things I've said before, the core gameplay is awesome, the roguelike mechanics are OK, the story is ??? why?

    Pay careful attention to the sheer amount of dialogue boxes that are just grunts and ellipses, you can't unsee it (unless they've patched that out since I played).

    3 votes

  13. Comment on Hooters | Bankrupt in ~food

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    I went to a Hooters with my (male, obviously) friends during one of our trips to the US, I was around 20. Somewhere in California I think. Apparently this was before it was sold so it would have...

    I went to a Hooters with my (male, obviously) friends during one of our trips to the US, I was around 20. Somewhere in California I think. Apparently this was before it was sold so it would have been during the height of their profitability.

    I remember being very uncomfortable during my whole time there (also, the food was not bad? not back then and there at least). But to be honest, what would have made me the most uncomfortable would have been the forced interaction with the wait staff. They picked up that my traveling companions wanted to talk, take pictures, etc. so there was a lot of uncomfortable closeness with strangers.

    This correlates with a general discomfort I've had with the attitude of wait staff in multiple US restaurants. Everyone was much more aggressively friendly, cheerful, upbeat than in any portuguese restaurant. That's not to say restaurants in Portugal have bad service - I'd say the service averages to "pretty good" outside fast food - or that we don't have friendly wait staff/owners in some restaurants, but that's up to them. Knowing what I now know about wait staff wages and tipping culture in the US, I wonder if they acted that unnatural because they felt as if they had a gun to the back of their heads. Combine that with the theme of Hooters restaurants and it suddenly feels extra gross. Like, they weren't obliging my companions and getting so close to us out of a proactive desire to do a good job, but out of fear of taking a loss. Yuck.

    Remove all that shit from the equation, and I'm honestly not opposed to a themed dining establishment hiring only physically beautiful people - as is common in some cultures around the globe. It would be dishonest of me to deny that I enjoy looking at beauty - beautiful buildings, beautiful scenery, beautiful animals, so why not beautiful people? Pay good wages proportionate to the increased expectations - they are wait staff and models at the same time. Have on-site security. Have everyone keep their distance and keep it strictly professional. I see no reason why they can't hire men. It would get rid of the gender discrimination complaints and broaden the appeal to everyone, giving the restaurant a real shot at being family friendly, as long as the spouses are both on the same page before making the decision to go. There's no reason why attractive wait staff can't be good with children, either.

    13 votes

  14. Comment on Awesome Games Done Quick 2026, a week-long charity fundraiser featuring speedruns, is live (runs January 4 - January 10) in ~games

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    I'm sad Chrono Trigger and especially Sword of the Sea are so late for an european. Things have been slipping quite a bit this year too, I went to bed so "late" after maimai. Well, guess I have no...

    I'm sad Chrono Trigger and especially Sword of the Sea are so late for an european. Things have been slipping quite a bit this year too, I went to bed so "late" after maimai.

    Well, guess I have no other choice!

    2 votes

  15. Comment on Awesome Games Done Quick 2026, a week-long charity fundraiser featuring speedruns, is live (runs January 4 - January 10) in ~games

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    I had planned on watching the Rally run but ended up unable to pay attention during that time. I had to make dinner! There's always too much to watch it all...

    I had planned on watching the Rally run but ended up unable to pay attention during that time. I had to make dinner! There's always too much to watch it all...

    3 votes

  16. Comment on Awesome Games Done Quick 2026, a week-long charity fundraiser featuring speedruns, is live (runs January 4 - January 10) in ~games

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    Anyone else still (occasionally) watching? If you missed it, I really recommend checking out the pure unhinged chaos that was the American Truck Simulator run. I wasn't even supposed to be...

    Anyone else still (occasionally) watching? If you missed it, I really recommend checking out the pure unhinged chaos that was the American Truck Simulator run. I wasn't even supposed to be watching at the time, so that was pure luck on my part!

    Some premium kaizo skill from shovda on the JokerShellOK run. And from what I caught of the Awful Block (which was, as always, scheduled for awful hours) Bug Blasters: The Exterminators, a FMV game, sure was a thing.

    I'd describe the rest of today as "mostly things I'd mildly interested in", at least until tonight's maimai showcase (with starrodkirby86, the same person who did it last time) which I'm sure will be awesome. I'm also curious for Croc 2 tomorrow, a game I played as a youth (I don't think I've ever seen it speedrun).

    7 votes

  17. Comment on nullschool earth: a visualization of global weather conditions in ~enviro

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    My favorite! I've been using this for years. Great rec.

    My favorite! I've been using this for years. Great rec.

    5 votes

  18. Comment on All about (computer) love in ~tech

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    They aren't. It's mostly CORS policy violations (including the audio ones which are disguised by how they set the audio up).

    They aren't. It's mostly CORS policy violations (including the audio ones which are disguised by how they set the audio up).

    1 vote

  19. Comment on Awesome Games Done Quick 2026, a week-long charity fundraiser featuring speedruns, is live (runs January 4 - January 10) in ~games

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    I really recommend that Psychonauts 2 run. The commentary about the various mental health issues present in the game was great.

    I really recommend that Psychonauts 2 run. The commentary about the various mental health issues present in the game was great.

    3 votes

  20. Comment on Awesome Games Done Quick 2026, a week-long charity fundraiser featuring speedruns, is live (runs January 4 - January 10) in ~games

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    Bunch of good stuff since yesterday. As an enjoyer of the rhythm games, I liked the Hatsune Miku Fitness Boxing showcase. Really made me want to go Beat Saber, which has not been possible due to...

    Bunch of good stuff since yesterday. As an enjoyer of the rhythm games, I liked the Hatsune Miku Fitness Boxing showcase. Really made me want to go Beat Saber, which has not been possible due to my cough. Also loved Mario Kart World, even though I have no interest in the game itself - the runner was a very cheerful person who clearly enjoys what she does, and the category idea (hit all question marks) which she routed herself was surprisingly compelling.

    Small Saga today was an unexpected gem. Even with the runner speeding through the dialogue everyone watching could tell the game has a lot of character and is a lot of fun. I also had fun semi-watching Argick's Lylat Wars (Star Fox 64) run.

    Tonight we have Psychonauts 2 and for the first time (though unfortunately too late for an european) Silent Hill f! Also a bunch of other big name stuff that will surely be of interest to viewers other than myself. Really good lineup.

    7 votes